Created as a final project in Futures Research at the University of Houston, this micro-website was created for a hypothetical client at the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.

Welcome!

For the past decade, the Local Food sector has been steadily growing. But what is next? This foresight project aims to address the following questions:

• In 2035, how does "local food" fit into the American diet?
• How will local food systems evolve to compete with or complement the globalized economy?
• What will "local food" mean in the future?
• What are the biggest challenges to overcome?

Using the University of Houston’s Framework Foresight methodology as a starting point, this site is meant to be a bridge between two phases of a foresight process:

From Mapping

Framing the project.

Scanning the horizon for signals of change.

Identifying baseline and alternative futures.

→

To Influencing

Exploring the implications of different futures.

Designing a vision for a preferred future.

Sharing and Initiating strategies to reach your preferred future.

This site is organized into three main sections:

One: Setting the Stage

How do we understand Local Food today?

• A brief overview of the current context of the domain, as well as the recent events that brought us here.
• Defining what is “Local Food” through conversations with experts in the field.
• Meeting our stakeholders.
• Six future drivers motivating change.
• Scanning the horizon for pockets of the future in the present.

Two: Baseline & Alternative Futures

Exploring two possible futures through multimedia vignettes.

• The baseline future called “Big Brands Green Up.”